A family of high priests from Modiin who led the Maccabean revolt, and later, after Judea attained independence, ruled the country from 167 to 37 BCE until it gradually fell under Roman rule. The first of the Hasmonean leaders of the Maccabean revolt was Mattathias, who was supported by his five sons. The leadership ability of the Hasmoneans and the total identification of the people with the aims of the war ensured a Judean victory over the Syrian-Hellenic state.
The Hasmoneans were then able, while the Syrian kingdom slowly crumbled, to convert an autonomous province into an independent state. They imposed their rule over most of the land of Israel and reunited it nationally by establishing Jewish settlements and by converting other groups to Judaism. The Jews, who until then had lived in a Greek province, rose again to become an independent people with a rich cultural and spiritual life, drawing wide interest and attention and contributing to the development of human civilization.
However, as soon as the Jewish state had become established, the Hasmonean kings tended to take on the ways of foreign rulers of the time. They adopted the manners of various Hellenized kings, were supported by an army of foreign mercenaries, attempted to reduce and even eliminate the influence of the Pharisees and other popular-nationalist expressions of Jewish existence, and stirred up bitter divisions among the people.
The ensuing state of affairs, coupled with quarrels within the Hasmonean family itself, weakened the country's ability to defend itself. Thus, when Rome, the great new power, came on the scene with intent to impose its domination, Judea succumbed practically without opposition.
Shortly after the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against Syrian Greece, Judah Maccabee (166–161 BCE) took the place of his father Mattathias, and by his leadership he inspired the devotion of the men under his command and led them to victory over the regular armies of the enemy.
Judah emphasized the value of fighting spirit, taught his men to move fast across the terrain, stressed mobility as a decisive factor in warfare, and instilled endurance and daring. After gaining control of the mountains of Judea he besieged the Syrian garrison inside Jerusalem and purified the Temple, which had been desecrated. He was victorious in all the battles he commanded until he fell fighting north of Jerusalem. His brother Jonathan the Hasmonean (161–142 BCE) succeeded him and withdrew with what was left of his men to the desert and there awaited his hour of readiness.
This occurred when internal struggles broke out in Syria. He then sallied forth with his force from the desert and again took control of Judea and expanded its borders north and westward. He was eventually recognized as the high priest. Jonathan was murdered and succeeded by his brother, Simeon the Hasmonean (142–135 BCE), who extended the territories of Judea in the coastal region. After Judea was recognized as an independent state, an assembly of the people confirmed Simeon and his descendants as holders of the office of high priest, as commanders-in-chief and ethnarchs, thus establishing the Hasmonean dynasty.
After the murder of Simeon by his son-in-law Ptolemy (135 BCE), he was succeeded by his son John Hyrcanus (135–104 BCE), who freed himself from all dependency on the Syrian-Greeks and widened the borders of Judea, bringing Samaria, southern Galilee and parts of Gilead and Moab under his rule. He accelerated Jewish settlement in the Galilee and in territories east of the Jordan River, forcibly converting the Moabites to Judaism.
The Hasmoneans showed their tendency to assimilate Greek culture during the reign of John Hyrcanus, expressed for instance by the Greek name (Hyrcanus) which he added to his Hebrew name. His sons and successors, Judah Aristobulus and Alexander Yannai, followed his example. Judah Aristobulus (104–103 BCE) conquered the Upper Galilee and forced its inhabitants to convert. He was the first of the Hasmoneans to crown himself, adopting the title of king.
After Judah Aristobulus died, Alexander Yannai (103–76 BCE) succeeded him. He waged further wars of conquest, on the coastal plain, across the Jordan River and in the Negev, but vexed the populace to the point of civil war. Alexander Yannai was succeeded by his widow, Salome Alexandra, who ruled for nine years, from 76 to 67 BCE. She exercised a calming influence on the people, brought about a reconciliation with the Pharisees and halted territorial expansion.
After Salome died, civil war broke out between her sons Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, a war which helped the Romans to subdue the State in 63 BCE. They demoted Hyrcanus from “king” to ethnarch of Judea and later in 47 BCE installed a procurator over him. He was Antipater, previously an official, an Idumean (Edomite) convert who had received Roman citizenship. Attempts by Aristobulus to revolt against Rome, with the help of the Parthians, the rulers over Persia and Mesopotamia and rivals of Rome, led to the Roman decision to end Hasmonean rule.
During the Parthian invasion, the Parthians had crowned Antigonus (40–37 BCE), who thus became the last of the Hasmonean kings; but when they withdrew, Antigonus' rule ended. The Romans recognized Herod, son of Antipater, as king of the Jews (40 BCE) and helped him to conquer all of Judea (37 BCE). He took Mariamne the Hasmonean to be his wife, but his many suspicions led him to bring death to Hasmonean descendants, including eventually his own wife and their sons.
